Cushion for insoles



March 18; 1958 R. R. RATcLn-F 2,826,834

CUSHION FOR INsoLEs Filed April 16,1957

. INVEN TOR.

A T TURA/6X5.

United States Patent ice amd inventiva when' C .nlsiiigereiclconinnefien withthei dra-W1 `Figure 1 is a( top,` plan view of' acushion ofthe pref ferred'typeof the invention.

2-82583 "Finire-,211 'nvewsimiar to Figure 1. CUSHION FORIllSfLESvFivre-.3; is ai chenal-new alena the line 3 3 Fielll-eilt.A A. D A" f rl l RgmoggfRJ-atd'l' Cgmmusi'ghiq Fivre' 4: is; Seeland View' alQng theline. 4-.4 Figs Application April 16,.19s1,-serirrta. ssarsi metil.' Y

u 2 Claims (CB as ln 7 A l0v .Fi'gure is' alvliagrammatic viewillustrating the relatiens ft s einvenfion Masha@ and l viewualong .lineyFigure 5..

: This;` invention .relates Yto shoe c onstuctionl andis particularlyconcerxiedfwithlaresilientsupportcshion which* V may either:be" built. directly intorthefslqekor wliicli-mayf :clearl'yslrovvnFigures land'lZ; the preferred form be insertedi-ythewearerarterfthesiisesare purchased Qfffhf risesza thin ,andreliativly Het ref In thepast thereihave been 'suggested 'innumerable 'l different types andstyles of shoe inserts, each adapted to support someselected: petition.off the'ffontf-tbtprovide additional comfortnor supposedly.tocorrectterristing foot ailments. lA great' maority of theseconstruction have extensin l1in shown in Fis-y ionel preferably,although ck ininfg and' insoleand.` to ning and' insolefpfrom e,heelnofrtn forwardinview fof a modification..o f

di ,ell'erallyV as 10. Thiscmprised one or-more resilient padsselectively; d er lyf across the shoerearwarduof,around.thepsoleandein-many instances-', Vsecuredto the T heelf portionvofgthe' cushionr sclflininghoninsole. AOthertypes offconstructi e n ,As gene as 1 he ,centralor. .sliardcY included supportsextendingover "allrf'af substantialpart p'hortin as'1'2, andthe laalls portion as l13'. Anextension of the entire foot sole. lip 14 may be provided on the forwardor inner edge, the The basic theory on which these earlier constructionscushion member as shown in Figures 1 and 2 being have proceeded has beento provide additional support adapted for use with .a right shoe. forsome particular bone or bones of the foot, such as Centrally of the heelportion 11, and preferably on the in many cases the metatarsal heads orsome portion 0f under-surface of the cushion member, an area designatedthe transverse or longitudinal arch. While in many types 15 has beenskived out or otherwise removed leaving only of feet a direct cushionedsupport has proved very efa very thin section 16 (see Figure 3) and acavity or refective in alleviating foot discomfort, in some instancescess 17 below this section. This recessed area 15 is because of theadditional height provided or becasue the adapted to receive and snuglyencase the oscalcis desigsupport member was wrongly positionedconstructions nated 23, Figure 5, when the wearers foot is positioned inhave actually contributed to foot diiculties rather than the shoe. Atthe same time, the solid portions of the alleviating them. 5 v cushionaround the recessed area provide direct support The essential purpose ofthe present invention has been for the muscular portions of the foot.The support which to provide a shoe cushion construction in which thebones is provided for the oscalcis is firm but gentle and in addiof theunderside of the foot which contact the shoe most tion to the otheradvantages mentioned tends to maintain directly and firmly in walking,to wit, the oscalcis or the foot in position in the shoe and prevent itfrom slipheel bone and the cuboid bone are provided with recesses ping`forward or laterally. or pockets which tend to encase them therebypermitting A similar recess 18 is provided for the cuboid bone 24, athickened portion of the cushion to support the muS- which whenpositioned depresses the thin section 19 into eulal Pert 0f the fOOt andt0 relieve pressure on these the recess 20. This support of the foot atthe two points Primary Shoe Contacting bones. where there is the mostdirect contact between the bones Another object of the invention hasbeen to provide 50 of the foot and the shoe attains the maximumadvantages a resilient support cushion adapted to support the entire ofthe invention, although the provision of a recess at heel and the cuboidbone and to extend sufficiently far either of the two points only islikewise contemplated. forward to relieve pressure on the metatarsalheads with- A's previously indicated, the member 10 is preferably Outbeing directly under these heads. skived or tapered around its entireperiphery. The for- Another object of the invention is to provide arelaward edge which is designated generally as 21 is prefer- VelY flatresilient fOO SUPPOI' Cushion Which preferably tapered at a less abruptangle than the rearward edge ably is bevelled around its peripheraledges to provide 22, This is for the purpose of providing a definite butselective types of support for the various portions of the Iunobtrusivesupport for the longitudinal arch just rearfOOt and a mOle Seelll'e andComfortable twardly' of the metatarsal heads, which as diagrammatical-Another Object Of the illVeIlOIl has been t0 provide 60 1y illustratedin Figure 5 never come into direct contact a unitary resilient cushionwhich is simple to manufacwith the cushion. The tapering of the edges isimportant ture, light in weight, and which does not distort the fitalso, in that it enables the cushion to be fitted more secureof the shoewhen regular standard lastsand patterns are I'J and less obtrusively inthe shoe. used. The extension lip shown in Figures 1 and 2 performsAnother object is to provide a support cushion which an improved supportfunction in certain types of feet,

assists in balanced posture and eases the strains of walkbut as shown inFigure 7 it may be omitted without seriing or standing. kously impairingthe eficacy of the structure. s

Another object has been to provide a resilient foot sup- The cushion maybe formed from almost any type of port cushion which is adapted to bebuilt integrally into resilient material conventionally used for thispurpose,

or inserted in all types of shoes, including work shoes as includingsponge rubber and various synthetic plastics well as dress shoes. aloneor in combinations.

Other further objects and advantages will be apparent As previouslyindicated, the cushion may be adhesively from the further and moredetailed description of the secured to the sock lining or insole, or itmay be simply inserted in the shoe either above or below the socklining.

Having fully described the invention, I claim:

l. A one-piece cushion insert for a shoe comprising a at cushion memberof generally uniformtthickness having an outline conguration coincidingwith the heel and shank portions of the insole of the Yshoe and seatedthereon, said cushion member formed of resilient spongy material tosupport the same above the surface of the insole, said cushion memberhaving a forward edge residing rearwardly of the metatarsal heads of thefoot bones, whereby the cushion member yieldably supports thelongitudinal arch of the foot, the underside of said cushion memberhaving a recess beneath the oscalcis bone of the foot, said recess beinggenerally oval in configuration having its major axis extendinglongitudinally of the cushion member, said recess delineating ayieldableweb normally spaced above the insole, said yieldable web havinga thickness substantially one-half the full thickness of said cushionmember, the portion of the cushion member marginally surrounding, saidrecess providing a load-bearing section yieldably supporting theperipheral heel portion of the foot which surrounds the oscalcis bone,said yieldable web being displaced downwardly under the downwardpressure of the oscalcis bone.

2; A one-piece cushion insert for a shoe comprising a at `cushion memberhaving an outline configuration coinciding with the heel and shankportions of the insole of the shoe and seated thereon, said cushionformed of resilient spongy material to support` the same above thesurface of the insole, said cushion member having a forward edgeresiding rearwardly of the metatarsal heads of the foot bones, wherebythe cushion member yieldably supports the longitudinal arch of the foot,the underside of said cushion member having a rst recess and having asecond recess residing forwardly of said rst `recess adjacent the outeredge of the insole, said first recess residing beneath the oscalcis boneof the foot, said second recess residing beneath the cuboid bone ofthefoot, each of said recesses delineating a yieldable web integral withsaid cushion member, said yieldable webs each having a thicknesssubstantially one-half the full thickness of said cushion member, theportion of the cushion member which marginally surrounds the said firstrecess providing a load-bearing section which yieldably supports theperipheral heel portion of the foot surrounding the oscalcis bone, theportion of the cushion member which is contiguous to said second recessproviding a load-bearing section for supporting the ball portion of thefoot adjacent the cuboid bone, the yieldable webs which are delineatedby said first and second recesses yielding downwardly under the pressureof the foot.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,778,683 Messler Oct. 14,` 1930 1,867,431 Wood July 12, 1932 2,051,072Brown Allg. 18, 1936 2,289,823 Bradshaw July 14, 1942

